Sitero alternative: technology you run yourself, or a CRO-led suite?
Sitero pairs CRO services with the Mentor eClinical platform it assembled in part from Clario's technology. This page covers what public sources say, the questions that matter if you are weighing the model, and a self-serve option to test free.
- Press-release based, hedged
- CRO model vs self-serve
- Free sandbox test
Free sandbox · No credit card · 21 CFR Part 11 compliant
| Sitero Mentor | Capture | |
|---|---|---|
| Can you license the technology without CRO services? | Ask vendor | Yes, self-serve |
| Who builds and amends the study | Ask vendor | Your team, AI-drafted |
| EDC, consent and randomization in one record | Ask vendor | Yes, one audit trail |
| Hands-on trial before contract | Ask vendor | Free sandbox |
| Priced in writing for your scenario | Request quote | Pricing page |
What to know first
- What the press says: in August 2023 Sitero announced it had acquired Clario's eClinical technology suite, folded into its Mentor platform. Trade coverage lists EDC, randomization and trial supply management, CTMS, eTMF, eConsent and site and patient payments among the components, and says existing Clario customers continued on Mentor. A 2024 release described expanding a partnership with ArisGlobal, and a late-2025 release described an AI acquisition and a "SiteroAI" offering. Confirm all of it with the vendor.
- Sitero describes itself as a site-focused CRO, so you are often evaluating a services relationship as much as software. That can suit a sponsor without clinical operations staff and be a poor fit for a team that wants to run its own study.
- What we do not claim: Sitero pricing, customer counts, efficiency figures, service levels or how any module performs. Vendor projections in press releases are not repeated.
- The core question is control. Who builds, amends and locks the database, and can you take the same platform without taking the CRO? Put that question in writing.
- Capture is the self-serve contrast. Your team builds the study in a free sandbox, with EDC, ePRO, eConsent and randomization in one audit trail, for Phase 1 to 3. Capture is not a CRO and offers no CRO services.
The vendor
What public sources describe about Sitero
Press coverage of the 2023 deal describes Sitero as a technology-enabled, site-focused CRO that bought a bundle of eClinical products from Clario to give its trials a single technology stack. The module list given in coverage spans data capture, randomization and supply, trial management, the trial master file, consent and payments. Sitero's own releases call the combined technology the Mentor platform.
The later items are about direction rather than product facts: an expanded partnership with a regulatory-and-safety software vendor in September 2024, and in November 2025 a purchase of the AI assets of a start-up whose product is an AI clinical-trial agent. Sitero's stated efficiency gains are its own projections, and we do not repeat them.
We could not load the vendor's website from our research environment, so every sentence above is from third-party reports of vendor announcements. Treat them as questions to verify. The EDC vendor audit checklist gives you the written questions that apply to any supplier, and how to choose a CRO covers the services side.
Decision matrix
Nine questions for Sitero and for Capture
The Sitero column is a question, not an answer. Capture's column is from its product and pricing pages.
| Question | Ask Sitero | Capture's answer |
|---|---|---|
| Technology without services | Can we license Mentor modules on their own, and for how long is a CRO contract required? | Yes. Capture is self-serve; sign up, build and test with no sales call. |
| Module scope | Which modules are in the quote and which are separate line items? | EDC, ePRO and eConsent in one system; CTMS and eTMF in the Full Platform plan. |
| Build and amendment | Who builds our eCRFs, who approves changes and what does an amendment cost? | Your team. The AI study builder drafts visits and forms from a protocol upload; forms go draft to approved and approved forms lock. |
| Randomization and supply | Is randomization native, and which supply features are included? | Configurable randomization in the same platform; allocation is logged. Check your supply needs separately. |
| Data cleaning | How are edit checks, queries and SDV configured? | Edit checks raise auto-queries; SDV can be set per field. |
| Provenance | Which modules came from acquired products, and how are they validated together? | One codebase and one audit trail; enterprise customers receive documentation to support sponsor validation and UAT. |
| Exit | What do we receive at lock and at exit, and in what format? | CSV/Excel with data dictionary, audit trail export, SDTM as SAS XPT with Define-XML. |
| Hosting | Which regions can hold our data? | EU (Frankfurt) and US (N. Virginia). |
| Total cost | What are all charges over 24 months, including services? | Plan pricing is on the pricing page; the sandbox is free. |
Verify every Sitero statement on the vendor's own site. No Sitero pricing, customer count or rating is claimed here.
Test the self-serve route while the proposals are out
Upload your protocol to the free sandbox, review the AI draft and time how long a testable study takes. No card.
Hands-on test
Ask for control of the database, then test it
Whoever builds your database controls your timelines. Take one visit with a vital-signs form and ask each option to change a range limit after go-live, then count the people, days and fees. In Capture the study team edits the form in draft, previews it and approves it; approved forms are locked for live use. This is a demo-data view of an edit check.
- An out-of-range value raises an automatic query at entry.
- Only approved forms appear in the casebook.
- The audit trail records old value, new value, user and reason.
Edit checks / auto-queries
2Type
Range High
Operator
Greater than
Value
180
Priority: High
Type
Range Low
Operator
Less than
Value
80
Priority: Normal
Query raised automatically
Value 192 violates limit (180). Please verify.
Operating model
CRO-led suite versus self-serve platform
Decision aid
Who should pick which
You have no clinical operations team and want one accountable party
A CRO-led model such as Sitero's is the category to evaluate; ask for technology and services to be priced separately.
You have a team and want to run the data yourself
Test a self-serve EDC. Capture's sandbox costs nothing; see running a trial without a CRO.
You are mid-study on another vendor
Read how to switch EDC vendors mid-study before moving anything.
Your protocol is likely to change
Ask every option for amendment turnaround and cost in writing.
You need late-phase scale
Check site count, support hours and validation documents with each vendor, then test Capture's Phase 3 controls.
Process
A three-week evaluation plan
- 1
Week 1: separate technology from services
Ask Sitero for a priced technology-only option and a services option; ask Capture for neither, since it is self-serve.
- 2
Week 2: build the same visit
Ask each option to build one visit with a lab table and a range check; count the people, days and questions.
- 3
Week 3: compare exit and total cost
Compare export formats, amendment fees and the 24-month total.
Next steps
Related reading
See EDC for independent CRO trials, best EDC for small-study CROs, running a clinical trial without a CRO and switching CROs and data migration. CRO teams evaluating Capture for their own studies can start at Capture for CROs.
For cost shape, see the EDC software pricing guide and how to switch EDC vendors mid-study.
What is Sitero Mentor?
Press coverage describes Mentor as Sitero's eClinical platform, assembled in part from Clario's eClinical technology acquired in 2023. Ask Sitero for the current module list and which modules you would use.
Is Sitero a CRO or a software vendor?
Sitero describes itself as a site-focused CRO that also owns eClinical technology. Whether technology can be licensed without services is a question to put to the vendor.
Is Capture a CRO?
No. Capture is a self-serve software platform for EDC, ePRO, eConsent and randomization. It offers no CRO services; your team or your CRO runs the study in it.
How much does Sitero cost compared with Capture?
We do not quote Sitero pricing. Ask for a written 24-month quote that separates technology from services. Capture has a free sandbox and published plans for live studies on the pricing page.
Can Capture replace the Clario technology Sitero acquired?
We cannot say which Clario products you use. If your study needs EDC, ePRO, eConsent and randomization, you can test all four in the Capture sandbox; check any other module needs against the pricing and product pages.
Is Capture suitable for regulated trials?
Capture is ISO 27001 certified, 21 CFR Part 11 compliant, GDPR compliant, HIPAA compliant and ICH GCP E6(R3) compliant, with EU and US data hosting. Validated use remains a shared responsibility with the sponsor.
Can I use Capture for Phase 3?
Yes. Capture supports Phase 1 through Phase 3, including SDV per field, freeze and lock, blinded roles and multi-site filtering.
Keep exploring
Related pages
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